


It's Not What You Want

by MoreLife03



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-04-28 18:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14455086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoreLife03/pseuds/MoreLife03
Summary: Choose your own adventure AU where Scott and Tessa are just your typical college students.





	1. Late by fate

**Author's Note:**

> At the end of each section there will be a choice to make about where the plot should go. I'll write the next section based on what the majority of people choose in the comments!

Tessa is running late to class for possibly the first time in her life. She can swear she set her alarm for seven a.m. the night before, but the clock staring back at her that blinks 10:14 says otherwise. Her heart gives a panicked thump as she jolts out of bed and begins shoving papers and notebooks into her bag. She doesn't even bother to change out of the leggings and sweatshirt she had slept in. She throws her hair up into a messy ponytail, a few pieces escaping down the back of her neck. After locating her phone and keys she is out the door.

  
She speeds past the other slow-paced students who give her side glances as she hurries towards her lecture hall. The building seems twice as far from her dorm than it had been yesterday. Her mind wanders back to the night before that had carried into the early morning hours. There had been lots of makeup and beer and loud music. As far as she can tell, she remembers everything, which is good.  
She glances at her watch as the grey brick building comes into view. 10:31. Class had already started, she was going to be late, but it was a big lecture so she could sneak in and sit down in the back without drawing much attention. Tessa takes the stairs up to the front door two at a time and yanks the door open. Once inside she quietly rushes down the hall.

  
“It’s okay. People come in late all the time,” She reassures herself. “You just have to act lik-AH!” She turns the corner and runs right into a student going the other direction. She felt the corner of his textbook jab into her stomach before crashing to the ground along with other various sheets of paper.

  
“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” She apologizes. She doesn’t even look at the guy before bending down to pick up his things.

  
He retrieves the textbook, while she gathers the papers. She hands them back, finally making eye contact with the stranger. She is taken aback when she realizes how handsome he is. He has dark slightly wavy hair, that unfairly curls in just the right way on his forehead. His eyes are kind but daring and, when paired with that mischievous smirk he is giving her now, are a dangerous combination.

  
“Thank you,” He says, accepting the pages, “But I think I owe you the apology.”

  
“I- No. I should have looked where I was going. Sorry,” She’s flustered and immediately kicks herself for apologizing again. He just laughs( a beautiful sound) and smiles at her, quickly looking her up and down which only makes her blush more. She must look like a mess. But she is taken aback for the second time when he asks,

  
“Do you have class right now?”

************************

Choose:

1.“Yes, I have class. I’m running late actually,” she answers honestly. She glances past him to the door of her classroom, but her eyes find their way back to attractive man in front of her.  
2.“Nope! I’m done with class for the day,” she answers, surprising herself. It’s a lie, but she would much rather spend a few more minutes talking with him.


	2. Hall Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Option 1 it is! Of course Tessa would choose to go to class!

“Do you have class right now?” he asks.

“Yes, I have class. I’m running late actually,” she answers honestly. She glances past him to the door of her classroom, but her eyes find their way back to attractive man in front of her. 

He laughs again, “Alright.” 

Is it just her or does he seem disappointed? 

“I’ll get out of your way then,” he says flashing her another adorable grin. Not sure what to say, she returns a small nervous laugh and nods, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. 

There’s an awkward pause as he looks down at her, while she purposely averts her gaze at the ground. With a nod, he steps around her and heads towards the exit. Tessa watches him walk away until he is halfway down the hall. He has on a pair of worn but well-fit jeans and an even better fitting plain black t-shirt. Suddenly remembering her situation, she turns around and sprints towards the door, gathering herself for a moment before pushing it open and sliding into a seat in the very back corner. 

She might as well have just slept through the entire class, considering the amount of the lecture she actually pays attention to. She tries to focus but all she can think about is the boy from the hallway. He had been good-looking, yes, but there was something else about him. She felt like they knew each other already even though she could swear they had never actually met before. Why hadn’t she asked for his name? She shakes her head. She never was the best in social situations. She is snapped out her thoughts by the loud sound of papers shuffling and bags zipping as people pack up and leave the room. Class was over. Tessa glances down at her black notebook page and sighs. 

Tessa’s next class is the same; her mind feels foggy and distracted. “Did I have a class with him last semester?” she wonders. “Was he at that party a couple months ago?” She must know him from somewhere. She manages to get through her psychology class half-listening to the professor. 

When she checks her phone after class, she finds a message from her roommate, Kaitlyn.

“Want to grab lunch?”

“Yes!” She types back quickly and begins making her way to their favorite sandwich place. She doesn’t even have to ask to know it’s the same place Kaitlyn has in mind. 

Her head still in the clouds, Tessa nearly walks into traffic at two separate pedestrian crossings. Nevertheless, twenty minutes later, she’s seated in a booth with a delicious BLT placed in front of her. 

“But you have to admit last night was fun!” Kaitlyn insists.

Tessa just laughs and shakes her head. “I’m not saying it wasn’t. I just sill can’t believe you talked me into going out on a Thursday night- a school night! I won’t be doing that again any time soon. I was late to class today,” Her own words bring him to the forefront of her thoughts again. 

“Earth to Tessa! Tessa!” Kaitlyn calls noticing the spacey look on her face. “What’s up with you?”

“I sort of ran into this guy today...literally,” she says. 

Kaitlyn snorts, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tessa explains the whole clumsy situation.

“And you didn’t ask for his name!?” Kaitlyn exclaims after Tessa finishes her story. She rubs a hand over her face. “It sounds like he was totally into you too. What am I going to do with you?” She asks, exasperated. Tessa shrugs. “Was he cute?” Kaitlyn keeps the questions coming. 

“Very,” Tessa answers, playing with her straw. 

“You’re killing me Tess! Next time there’s an extremely cute boy that essentially crashes into your life, promise me you’ll make getting his name a priority,” Kaitlyn says rolling her eyes. She opens her purse and begins piling a few crumpled bills on the table. 

“Okay, okay, I promise,” Tessa says as she holds up her hand in mock oath. 

The girls leave the diner and aim towards the library for an afternoon of studying. They take their time enjoying the weather, making their way down the shaded sidewalk, lined on either side by plots of perfectly manicured grass. Kaitlyn is talking a mile a minute about this stubborn girl she has to collaborate with for a group project, to which Tessa was listening intently at first, until she notices a large group of about seven or eight people walking towards them from the opposite direction. It looks like a bunch of frat boys and tessa rolls her eyes. 

“She doesn’t know the definition of compromise. Won’t let anyone else have a say,” Kaitlyn continues. 

Tessa eyes the group of guys as they get closer. They all have that over-confident vibe about them evident in the way they walk and banter with each other. Suddenly her eyes go wide. There, towards the back of the group is the guy from this morning. She recognizes his unmistakable laugh, and watches as he runs a hand through is hair. For some reason the hairs on her arm stand on end. When they are only a few meters away, he notices her. Their eyes lock and the smile disappears from his face and is replaced by an expression of shock, his mouth slightly parted. His friend grips his shoulder with a questioning look and says something Tessa can’t quite make out. His eyes, a intensely soft hazel, are still on her. He gives her the slightest nod of recognition just as they pass, before he turns back to his friends and smiles again. This time his smile looks a little forced. 

“Like, what am I supposed to do? Ask for a new group?” Kaitlyn is still talking about her project. Tessa stops walking and looks over her shoulder. She can swear he did the same but he whips his head back around too quickly for her to be sure. 

“Are you even listening, Tess?”

“That’s him,” is all Tessa says in reply.

“What? Who?” Kaitlyn follows Tessa’s gaze to the group of guys. 

“Black t-shirt,” Tessa clarifies.

Kaitlyn lets out a low whistle. “Very cute indeed,” she says raising her eyebrows in a suggestive way. “and you didn’t even get his name,” she adds bringing back her disapproval. Tessa frowns. 

“Whatever. It’s not like anything would have come out of it. Name or no name.” She says it more to convince herself. Why does she feel so emotionally drawn to this guy she clearly doesn’t know?

```````````

Two weeks later Tessa is standing along the wall in a cramped fraternity house basement with low lights and blaring music. Kailyn had yet again managed to guilt her into going out to a party, and Tessa had only agreed because it was a Friday night and she did not have a ton of homework to do this weekend. She could see Kaitlyn now, dancing with some tall guy who she was told is named Andrew. The last two weeks had been uneventful. There had been no more sightings of, as Kaitlyn called him, “Hall Boy”, and honestly, Tessa was a little disappointed. 

Tessa looks down at the cup in her hand and takes another tentative swallow, wincing slightly at the bad taste. She never liked beer all that much. A group of tipsy girls bunches past her forcing her up against the wall and into some unfortunate guy standing next to her. To make matters worse, one of the girls spills some of her drink down the side of Tessa’s leg. She normally would be more upset but she is a little bit more drunk than usual tonight, so she just ignores the sticky liquid and moves back over into her own space along the wall. Another guy comes pushing through the crowd, brushing up against her as he tries to pass the dancing bodies. She decides to grab Kaitlyn and go upstairs for a while to escape all these people. She is just about to make her move into the crowd when a voice stops her. 

“Hey! I know you,” the slurred voice shouts just above the music.

Tessa turns around to find herself face to face with the boy she crashed into. His face is lit up with a drunk glow. 

“Hi,” is all her mind is able to offer. A girl making her way to the back of the room pushes herself between them. As soon as she is gone, he moves in closer so that there is no room for someone else to do the same. 

“It’s good to run into you again,” he tells her. He has to stand pretty close in order for her to hear him. One of his hands is pressed against the wall just above her shoulder. Tessa is acutely conscious of his closeness, as her back leans firmly against the wall behind her as if to stay grounded. “Something I never got to ask. What’s your name?” She can feel his breath on her ear. 

“Tessa,” She answers, taking in his slightly sweaty but attractively mussed hair and lopsided smile. 

“Well Tessa, can I borrow your phone?” he asks before her partially intoxicated mind can ask his name in return. She is slightly confused and before tonight she would never in her life give her unlocked phone to a stranger, but something about this boy makes her hand it to him without further questioning. Then there is a disturbance to her left. Two girls have fallen down and caused the crowd to part around them. In the comotion, the boy slips Tessa’s phone back into her hand. The next thing she knows, another guy with very blonde hair comes over to him and slings an arm around his shoulder.

“There you are man! We’ve been looking for you!” The blonde boy says excitedly and he begins guidning her mystery man away. 

“Okay. I gotta go Tess. But see you later,” His hand trails down her arm as he takes a long swig of beer, and then just like that he’s gone again.

Kaitlyn comes over a few seconds later squealing. “TESSA!” She shrieks. “I just saw you with that BOY! Where’d he go?”

“I’m not sure.” Tessa says blushing despite herself.

“Go find him!!!” She insists, giving Tessa a shove in the general direction Hall Boy and Blondey had just gone.

Tessa giggles and starts searching the crowd. Once the pushed, now the pushee. She doesn’t see him in the basement and decides to check upstairs. She heads to the front room and that’s where she sees him…

 

****************

Choose:  
1\. with his lips locked on another girl. Tessa freezes in place, not sure what to do. After a few seconds, the girl breaks away to take a drink from her plastic cup, and that’s when he looks up and sees her. 

2\. Stumbling drunk. He trips, sort of falling into the wall, and slides to the ground. After a few seconds without him moving, Tessa realizes he has passed out.


	3. Fall Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one was much closer but option 2 takes the win 15-8! No girl drama...yet :)

Tessa giggles and starts searching the crowd. Once the pushed, now the pushee. She doesn’t see him in the basement and decides to check upstairs. She heads to the front room and that’s where she sees him stumbling drunk. He trips, sort of falling into the wall, and slides to the ground. After a few seconds without him moving, Tessa realizes he has passed out. 

Stumbling a bit herself on unsteady legs, she makes her way over to where he is lying on his side. His drink is still in his hand, but most of it has spilled and is proceeding to soak into his clothes. Tessa squats down and quickly loses her balance, falling back so that she is also sitting in the alcohol on the floor. Unbothered she reaches out and shakes his shoulder. 

“Hey,” she says, shaking him harder when he doesn’t respond. “Shit,” she swears under her breath.

She crawls onto her knees and puts both hands under his shoulder that is resting on the ground. With great effort she manages to get him to a sitting position. As soon as she takes her hands away, he begins to fall back over. She decides she can’t leave him in a puddle of his own beer where he could easily choke on his own vomit, so the next thing Tessa knows, she swings one leg over his lap so that she is straddling him with one hand on each shoulder to keep him upright. His head is slumped to one side with his hair falling a bit into his face. She instinctively brushes the stray hair out of his eyes. As weird as the situation is she can’t help but admire the line of his jaw and the way his lashes cast shadows down his cheeks. She stays sitting on top of him, staring, waiting for him to regain consciousness.

“Is he okay?” someone asks from behind, startling Tessa out of her trance. Tessa turns and finds a girl in a flimsy dress. She is definitely drunk as well, but not as far gone as Tessa or Hall Boy. 

“I’m not sure,” Tessa answers. 

“He looks pretty bad. Maybe you should take him back to his place and let him just sleep it off.” The girl says as she eyes the way Tessa is positioned on top of him.

“I-I don’t know where he lives,” Tessa replies. She turns back to the boy, suddenly realizing how bad this must look. She knows she should stand up, but she’s worried he might fall and frankly, she doesn’t trust her coordination at the moment. 

“Well what’s his name? I can go try to find some of his friends,”

“I don’t know.”

“Useless” The girl mumbles clearly annoyed. “Wait here. I’ll see if I can find someone anyway.”

Not a minute after the girl has gone downstairs into the think of the party, the boy begins to stir under Tessa’s hold. He moves his head up and leans it back against the wall with his eyes still closed. Suddenly they open and are staring directly into her own. His eyes are glassy as he takes her in. He then looks around the room and Tessa can see the wheels turning in his head as he pieces together exactly where he is. He returns back to her and smirks as he notices how close she is and the way she is straddling him, one knee on either side of his waist. She drops her arms to her side and quickly climbs off of him, moving to sit a few feet away from him along the wall. 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to...you just fell and…” she says letting her own words trail off as the alcohol and embarrassment are making it too hard to form words. 

“Guess I’m pretty clumsy, eh?” He says trying to joke but he winces as a wave of nausea falls over him. She is about to finally ask for his name when the curly blonde comes bounding around the corner. 

“Moir! Shit, man! Good to see you awake!” he says hurrying across the room to rescue his friend. “Moir?” Tessa thinks to herself. “That can’t be his name, can it?” She sees the girl from earlier spin around and leave now that Hall Boy is in the hands of someone who actually knows who he is. 

“Charlie!” Hall Boy hums in a childish voice. He looks close to blacking out again. She figures that must be Blondey’s name. Charlie notices her for the first time now and he looks troubled as he glances between her and his friend. 

“This guy can be a real party animal,” is all he says to her before helping Hall Boy to his feet. Tessa can tell it takes a lot of effort for Charlie to keep both of them upright, but they somehow make it out of the room and she is left sitting alone. 

“Kaitlyn is going to kill me,” she murmurs to herself thinking about how she had failed yet again. Tessa realizes she left Kaitlyn a long time ago. All she wants to do is go home, peel out of her filthy, sticky clothes and go to sleep. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and after four attempts is able to get her shaking fingers to type in the correct passcode. The screen opens up in the contacts app.

“That’s weird, she thinks to herself. “I don’t remember opening my contacts list tonight.”

But as she looks, she sees that there is, in fact, a new contact added. Her mind reels back to the only other person who had her phone tonight as she reads the name.

“Scott.” 

She looks up as she hears someone entering the room and sees Charlie standing in front of her. 

“Where’s Scott?” she asks, feeling brave and proud of her new found knowledge. 

“Are you Tessa?” he asks blowing off her question.

“Yes?” she answers a bit thrown off. He holds out both his hands to her and helps her to her feet. Grabbing her waist when she loses her balance at first. 

“Good. I was trying to take Scott home, but he wouldn’t shut up about this girl ‘Tessa’. Said I have to go get her.”

Tessa’s stomach feels very warm and her heart picks up at this news. This guy -Scott- is drunk out of his mind yet he has enough sense to think of her.

“Plus I could use the help walking him back. I’m not so stable myself,” he adds laughing. 

“Of course,” is all she says as she follows him out into the night. 

``````````````````````````````````````  
They eventually make it to Scott’s apartment. They have to stop twice for Charlie to puke, but they finally make it. Scott fumbles with his key and lets them both in behind him. Charlie immediately crashes on the couch leaving just herself and Scott standing in the living room. Tessa is unsure of what to do with herself. Something feels wrong about being in his apartment when she knows so little about him. He is facing her now, his eyes are desperately glued on hers. 

“You can say if you want,” he says quietly. Somehow he is closer to her now. His hand moves to brush some hair off her shoulder but he doesn’t do anything else. He holds her gaze steadily waiting for a response. She’s frozen. And she’s still frozen when he tentatively puts a hand on her waist. She doesn’t move towards him, but she doesn’t move away either. 

“He’s impossibly drunk!” her mind screams. “I need to leave. This isn’t like me.” But his hands moving up her back are sending a shooting heat through her body. She feels a connection to Scott she can't explain, but she doesn't want to rush into it like this.

Choose:

1\. Her phone decides to start ringing at this moment. She looks down to see Kaitlyn’s name on the display screen and chooses to use this as her excuse. She looks up at Scott who is looking back at her expectantly.   
“I have to go” is all she says before slipping out the door.

2\. Her phone decides to start ringing at this moment. She quickly mutes it and looks back at Scott whose face is mere inches from hers. Her eyes drop to his lips and suddenly all she wants to do is kiss them...that’s the last thing she remembers before waking up on his apartment floor.


	4. You're hot and you're cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been a loooong time since the last update! Sorry!
> 
> Last chapter's decision was the closest yet, and by 1 vote Tessa decides to leave Scott's apartment. 
> 
> Can't wait to see where you all take the story next!!

Chapter 4-

“He’s impossibly drunk!” her mind screams. “I need to leave. This isn’t like me. I need to stop this.” But his hands moving up her back are sending a shooting heat through her body. 

Her phone decides to start ringing at this moment. She looks down to see Kaitlyn’s name on the display screen and chooses to use this as her excuse. She looks up at Scott who is looking back at her expectantly.  
“I have to go” is all she says before slipping out the door.

``````````  
Monday morning Tessa walks to class (on time) but stops short when she sees Scott pacing in front of the door to her lecture hall. His hands are clasped behind his back, a look of deep thought etched on his face. She hadn’t seen him since last Friday night when she promptly exited his apartment. She still had his number and contemplated messaging him multiple times, but nerves got the best of her and she ultimately decided against it. She approaches him cautiously while his back is turned.

“Hey Scott.” She says so quietly she wonders if he could even hear her.

“Tessa! I was hoping to catch you here!” Scott says after wheeling around. The sound of her name coming so enthusiastically off his lips causes her to blush. 

“What can I do for you?” She answers.

“Well-” he starts and suddenly it’s his turn for the nerves to kick in. “You see… I was hoping we could maybe grab something to eat later today. I want to talk about… the other night.”

Tessa’s eyes grow wide as she processes his words before she nods in agreement. Was this a date? Was Scott asking her on A DATE?!?

“Okay. I’m free after this class,” she replies hoping she doesn’t sound too eager. 

“Perfect!” He says smiling. “I’ll pick you up here when you’re done, yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

````````  
Just like he promised, Scott meets Tessa after class and they walk towards town to get lunch. Conversation flows amazingly easy between the two and Tessa thinks she laughs more talking those few minutes with Scott than she has in a long time. 

Once inside the cafe Scott starts asking questions about Tessa’s life and what she’s studying in school and various other more personal topics. She tells him she’s a second-year student and a psychology major and finds out he’s majoring in elementary education. He tells her a couple funny stories about some of the children he’s volunteered with already which make her burst out laughing. When she looks up, he’s staring.

“What?” she asks becoming self conscious.

He looks down and avoids her eyes. “You have a beautiful smile.”

She watches him as he continues to avert his eyes and play with a napkin sitting on the table. She notices the way his very expressive eyebrows are furrowed. She clears her throat and says, “So you wanted to talk about last night.”

He looks up quickly, and looks away again. 

“Yeah. You seem like a really nice girl. I’m enjoying spending time with you now.” he says motioning between them. He’s flustered. “I just wanted to apologize for coming on kind of strong. I was blowing off some steam. My girlfriend and I were going through something…”

Tessa’s brain shuts off after the word “girlfriend”. What the hell. Scott had a girlfriend? She probably should have felt embarrassed, thinking this was a date and that he was interested in her, but instead anger begins to twist inside of her. They way he looked at her when they first met! He gave her his number! He wouldn’t go home until Charlie found her! He almost kissed her, the bastard! The confusion and hurt of mixed signals only ads to her disdain. She doesn’t know what possesses her in the moment but as her emotions boil over

************************  
Choose:

1\. her hand grabs the full glass of ice water in front of her and flings it into his face. He gasps as the cold takes his breath away while droplets run down his face and cling to his eyelashes. She too lets out a small sound of shock because she can’t believe what she has just done. 

2\. she stands up so fast her chair nearly tips over. She leans across the table and kisses him. He’s obviously caught off guard, gasping against her lips, but there is a brief moment where he kisses her back. And that’s right about the time Charlie decided to walk into the cafe.

**Author's Note:**

> Vote in the Comments!! I'm new to writing so I appreciate all comments and advice!


End file.
